After losing an infringement case brought against it by fellow content delivery network Akamai, Limelight Networks is going all out to reassure its customers that the $45.5 million judgment against it was merely a flesh wound.
In a letter posted to the company’s web site (and sent around to the media), Limelight notes its $197 million in cash on hand and explains why it’s waiting to file an appeal. All fine, but the admission that it’s working on a way to operate without infringing the Akamai patent means that this flesh wound is more akin to having a leg chopped off.
“Further, we are actively exploring alternatives that would enable us to continue to provide the same level of service that we always have and eliminate any issue of infringement, if such is determined with finality by the courts. Additionally, there are many aspects of our business that were either not accused of infringing or we believe are clearly outside the scope of what was litigated.”
The very existence of the letter indicates that customers are concerned. Shares in Limelight have dropped more than 35 percent since the Feb. 29 verdict, so now might be a good time for a deep-pocketed buyer with a fearsome legal team to step in.
On the technical front, LimeLight has been failing quite a bit lately as well. Their platform for content distribution is fragile. Recent failures include the Oprah event:
http://www2.oprah.com/about/press/releases/200803/press_releases_20080304.jhtml
and the recent debates on MSNBC. You wouldn’t be seeing the same on Akamai .
correction… you mean akamai couldnt have handled this event. please get a clue before writing a report. i wont even bother to go into you other mistakes
That flesh just happens to be the heart! lol
Limelight seriously dropped the ball on our account with them recently. After banging our heads against the wall with them on some ongoing tech problems we were having, they finally came back and said “we can’t help you.” This was for a major corporate entity whose name anyone would recognize. We had top drop them and go with someone else.
LimeLight says Akamai couldn’t have handled the Oprah event? LOL – that’s silly. Akamai has done a number of large events and continues to perform. If you need proof look at their event this week. They’re streaming ALL of the March Madness games? They did Apple’s Keynote announcements, Microsoft’s Live Earth, and countless other large volume, flash crowd type events.
For not having a clue Brian seems awfully educated. I like LimeLight but sold after their loss on the patent infringement announcement. A good story that never materialized.